Steam Roasted Salmon

POACHED SALMON

If you are making salmon

using salmon fillets, this is excellent.
It’s from the Slow Mediterranean
Kitchen by Paula Wolfert. This
method is a steam roasted salmon
at a slow low temp.


Ingredients

You need salmon fillets,
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper


Directions

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees Fahrenheit. Position one rack in the lower third of oven and another in the upper third. Carefully place a skillet of boiling water on the lower oven shelf. Place the salmon on an oiled baking sheet. Sprinkle generously with salt and
pepper. Bake until the salmon is firm to the touch, approx. 20  minutes. Let the salmon rest for 5 minutes before serving. The color of the salmon will not turn dull, the texture will be very moist and easily flakes. Serve with lemon wedges and Hollondaise sauce.
Sprinkle some chopped chives over the fish.


HOLLONDAISE SAUCE
This is my mother’s recipe, it always works!

Eggs
Butter
Lemon
Salt
Tabasco

Heat 1 cup of butter in a saucepan
Into  the container of an electric blender, put 4 egg yolks, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, ¼ teasp salt, a shake of Tabasco sauce. Cover container and blend on low speed, remove cover once it’s going slowly and pour in the hot butter in a steady stream. When all the butter is added, turn off the motor.
Serve immediately with the salmon.

macaroni cheese

Macaroni Cheese

Ingredients

2 cups Elbow Macaroni
3 tablespoons Flour
2 cups Milk
1/2 cup Grated Cheddar Cheese
Salt
Pepper
2 tablespoons butter

Directions

Bring a pot of water to the boil, add salt and macaroni and cook until tender. Drain through colander and place in a shallow casserole dish, add a tablespoon butter, mix and cover.
To make the sauce, first grate 1/2 cup cheddar cheese and set aside.In a saucepan, take 2 tablespoons flour, stir in 2 cups milk, a shake of salt and pepper and 1 tablespoon butter. Turn on the heat and stir continuously until the sauce begins to thicken and bubble a bit. Turn off the heat and immediately stir in 1/2 of the cheese.
Add the sauce to the macaroni and stir in well.
Sprinkle the remainder of the grated cheese over the top and place under the grill to brown.
You can make this ahead and grill just before serving.

Pineapple Platter

Pineapple Fruit Platter

This wonderful fruit presentation 
was shown to me by my friend
Jennifer Scalione.





Ingredients

1 whole pineapple
1 bunch red seedless grapes
Strawberries
Watermelon


Directions

Slice the pineapple lengthwise first,
 cutting right through the leaves  















Next quarter the pineapple halves

           








To remove the core,
slant the knife at an
angle and slice half way,










 then turn the pineapple and slice at
 an angle on the other side








Remove the core which is shaped like a triangular prism..............
Now slice between the outer skin and fruit, half way in,

 and then do the same on the other side.





Slice across the quarter pineapple down to the
skin, but not all the way through.

Garnish with grapes, strawberries and watermelon,

rice

Rice

This rice is not sticky rice, it is the rice I make with all my dishes.




Ingredients

2 cups Uncle Ben’s Rice
3 cans Campbell’s Chicken Broth
1 tablespoon butter
Salt



Directions

In a non-stick saucepan, place all the above ingredients. Fill the empty chicken broth cans half way with water, and add to the saucepan. Stir and let sit for at least one hour, or until you are ready to cook it.
Cook the rice on a very low heat, stir from time to time and taste the rice to see how it is doing, if the pot starts to dry out, just add a little more water. As it slowly cooks, the rice absorbs the chicken broth, so that when it is done, there is no liquid and it is ready to serve. Let it stand covered until you are ready to serve.
To reheat, just put a little water in the base of the saucepan and cook covered, again over low heat.

calamari salad

Calamari Salad

Ingredients

1 lb squid, cleaned
1 lemon squeezed
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 large garlic clove minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 red onion chopped
8 pitted Kalamata olives halved
halved lengthwise
1/2 red pepper chopped
1/2 yellow pepper chopped
2 celery stalks chopped
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh
Italian parsley
1 small cucumber chopped
16 cherry tomatoes left whole


Directions 

Buy squid that has been cleaned








Wash squid and then cut bodies crosswise
into 1/4 inch rings,






and halve tentacles lengthwise.








Place in bowl of water to rinse again.
Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil, and place the squid in the boiling water uncovered for l minute. Drain in a colander and immediately put in a bowl of water with ice cubes to stop the cooking. Squid that is overcooked becomes tough and rubbery. Once the squid is cool, drain and pat dry with a paper towel.

Whisk together the juice of one lemon, 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar, 1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil, 1 large garlic clove minced, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a bowl. Add 1/2 red onion finely chopped, stir and let stand for five minutes.

Combine the olives, red pepper, yellow pepper, celery and parsley with the cooled squid, add the dressing and mix. Add salt and pepper if needed. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Tartare Sauce with Cod Deep Fried in Beer Batter

Tartare Sauce with Cod Deep Fried in Beer Batter


This recipe makes a small amount for 2 - 3 people and is pretty close to the fish and chips we used to get in England wrapped in newspaper! I've left out the newspaper wrapping.

Ingredients for the Tartare Sauce

3/4 cup Mayonnaise
2 Gherkins chopped
12 Capers chopped
1 tablespoon Parsley chopped
Salt
Pepper

Directions for the  Tartare Sauce

Finely chop 2 gherkins, 12 capers, and enough parsley for 1 tablespoon. Mix with 3/4 cup mayonnaise. Add salt and pepper to season.
 Good with cod deep fried in beer batter. (Recipe posted 3/3/12)
This can be made ahead and refrigerated.
Actually, I tried my other batter recipe last night. This was given to us by our dear cousin, Bobby Deraney, years ago ......it isn't as fiddly to make, and always works.

Ingredients for the Batter

2 Cups Flour
1 bottle Beer
1 egg
1 jigger rye

Directions for the Batter



Mix altogether in a bowl, being careful not to allow the batter to become too thick. I generally put the flour, the egg and the rye first, then slowly pour in the beer, whisking with a fork. I end up using a whisk once it's all mixed in, to make the batter light and frothy.

Cod

Ingredients for the Cod

1 lb. fresh cod
Vegetable Oil for Deep Frying
Lemon Wedges.

Directions for the Cod

This recipe is very good with Cod. Cut the fish into serving portions, if you have a pound of fish, you may get 5 or six sections out of it. Wash the fish and pat dry. Then heat the  vegetable oil in a saucepan, dip the fish in batter just before frying, doing two at a time, until golden brown. Approximately 3 minutes.

Delicious with french fries (see recipe 3/3/12)

Meat Fataya (Lamb)

Meat Fataya

Ingredients

Filling
2 lbs ground lamb meat
1 Spanish onion
2 generous teaspoons pinenuts
2 lemons squeezed
1 tablespoon salt
1  teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons allspice
5 tablespoons lebani (Greek yoghurt at its thickest)
3/4 block cream cheese

Dough
4 cups bread flour
2 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup spry (Crisco vegetable shortening)
2 1/2 cups warm water
1 tablespoon yeast

Directions

Make the dough first
(I used to use regular flour but
since Dean gave me the Man’oushe
book from Lebanon, I prefer this recipe,
using bread flour and cake flour.
The dough is stronger and holds the
filling better. Fataya can split open
while baking.)

In a large bowl, mix together bread flour, cake flour, salt and sugar. Make sure the ingredients are thoroughly blended.
Add the spry and work into the flour mixture by rubbing the flour and spry together with your hands, make sure all the flour is mixed in well with the spry.
Take a smaller bowl, add the yeast and mix with 1/2 cup warm water to soften the yeast, mix quickly with a spoon and pour over the flour mixture. Next add another two cups warm water. (Situ Stevens used to use 1 cup milk and 1 cup water)
With your hands, mix it all in together, it will form into a ball of dough, it shouldn’t be too wet .... you can add a bit more flour if it is, or water if too dry. It can be tacky and sticky in texture. Knead the dough a few times but not excessively. Then cover the bowl with saran wrap and a blanket. Leave aside to allow the dough to rise.
I often make this in the morning and then return to make the fataya in the afternoon.
You can also keep in the fridge, but make sure the dough is at room temperature before trying to roll it out.

To make Meat Fataya


Directions for the Filling

Place 2 lbs ground beef in a bowl, add 3/4 block cream cheese and work thoroughly into the meat with your hands, next add 5 tablespoons Greek yoghurt and mix altogether well. Add the juice of 2 lemons and again mix thoroughly.
Add 1 tablespoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper and 2 tablespoons allpice.
Chop 1 onion finely and mix into the meat mixture.
Finally, add 2 generous tablespoons pinenuts.

 

This is not meat but spinach, but the method is the same

Spray large flat baking pans with Pam, or paint on some oil.
Take risen dough and make into small rolls, work the rolls  a little in some flour if they are too tacky, cover with saran wrap and leave to stand on sprinkled flour.
Take one roll of dough, and with a rolling pin, roll into a thin layer.
Cut into rounds (top of a large peanut butter jar works well)

this filling is spinach but the method is the same for both meat and fataya

                                                       
Take a teaspoon of the filling, place in center of rounds and then

 

 

make the dough into an envelope,
sealing all edges well.







When closing fataya pies, be careful not to get juices on the edges. this will make it difficult to close. If this happens, dip fingers in flour and close.

Heat oven at 400 degrees F, have rack in middle of oven.
Place each fataya on baking pan

Bake in oven until just beginning to change color, the fataya should be brown on the base.
These bake quite fast, approximately 15 to 20 minutes, but you have to keep your eye on them. Usually by the time you’ve made another batch, the fataya are ready.

If you wish, you can brush some melted butter half way through the baking process, I used to do this but have stopped doing this.

Fataya freeze really well cooked. On the day you want to eat them, take fataya out in morning, uncover and let stand most of the day. Reheat for 15 minutes in oven at 350 degrees F. just before serving.

Just recently, I tried something different. I worried that the meat tasted dried out, especially after freezing. My son in law suggested frying the thawed meat fataya very quickly. We did this, draining the fataya on a paper towel, these can either be eaten immediately or reheated for 15 minutes at 350 degrees F. uncovered just before serving. The filling in fact is moist, delicious and full of flavor. I am going to try making these again, and frying after they are baked. I'll try some just frying without baking as well and see how that goes.